Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Apr 10, 2018 Esther rated it really liked it

Shelves: author-male, series-loved-or-to-continue, e-book, zz-2018, future, space-otherworld, zz-2018-from-my-own-shelves, science-fiction, dystopia, gr-choice-award

I received this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Red Rising begins in the depth of Mars.

Darrow is a Red, a caste of miners who believe they are mining gas vital for the creation of a livable habitat on the surface of Mars, in preparation for future colonists. But the surface of Mars has been habitable for generations and the Reds whole existence is a lie used to control them, to keep them as slaves in a coloured based hierarchy designed to perpetuate the wealth and power o I received this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Red Rising begins in the depth of Mars.

Darrow is a Red, a caste of miners who believe they are mining gas vital for the creation of a livable habitat on the surface of Mars, in preparation for future colonists. But the surface of Mars has been habitable for generations and the Reds whole existence is a lie used to control them, to keep them as slaves in a coloured based hierarchy designed to perpetuate the wealth and power of the Golds.

At first the narrative seems to be standard dystopian; repressed masses, treated cruelly and unfairly by an uncaring elite. Darrow is young, with a lovely wife and little desire to rebel or improve his life even though his family receives barely enough food to survive.
But following a tragedy he is recruited by an infamous resistance group.

At this point the story diverges from the classic dystopian tropes of the underdog fighting oppression and becomes more similar to the tale of an undercover agent; disguising his identity, living among the enemy terrified of being discovered yet concerned about becoming too much like the people he despises, immersed in a new life making friends with the Golds he will eventually have to betray.

The pacing of the narrative is quite slow especially at the beginning when the scenes are set among the red miners. There is an emphasis on the Reds expressing themselves through dance and song. Songs that a much more than entertainment, a yearning conveyed in poetical form so deep and painful that certain songs are banned on pain of death. There is a suggestions that these songs have deeper meaning or significance which is never fully realized in this book but whose potential is left open for future interpretation.

As the book progress we are stunned by how stark and brutal it all is. The narrative is dark and shocking but realistic and believable. The author does not wallow in violence or cruelty but it is present on the page raw and unhidden. Although the writing focuses mainly on strategy and plot the author manages to create a genuine relationships between the characters and a connection with the reader even during the battle scenes when so many characters are in play.

The books was not perfect and at times I was mystified as to where it was headed. There was also a tricky twist at the end which felt tacked on and unnecessary.
However as the first book in a series it provided a proper logical conclusion to this first episode while still leaving plenty to pique our curiosity about the sequels.

...more

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Jan 11, 2015 junia rated it it was amazing

Wow!!!!

I've been bothered by YA lately - it just felt like cotton candy, and they were all recycling the same tired old dystopian plot.

LOVE this.

He did a great job establishing the setting, poking holes and questions into our own mentality and thoughts, and this was just really great.

I love how he didn't fall back on an insipid romance and just how well-paced everything is.

Things connect. You feel. Quotes are GREAT in this book.

Well-written, even.

...more

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Dec 28, 2015 Teresa Jensen rated it really liked it

Good enough to read #2

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Oct 20, 2019 Cait rated it liked it

Shelves: theoretically-written-for-children, series

The Hunger Games IN SPACE. Ender's Game WITH HUMAN EMOTIONS. Harry Potter BUT SCI-FI.

Things I liked: Found family. Outsiders rewriting the rules. World building.

Things I didn't like: The unbelievable competence of the main character at LITERALLY EVERYTHING. And for real, we are in the future, we have genetically engineered all of humanity, we are terraforming the outer reaches of the solar system, but we are still hung up on the Roman pantheon? ...more

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Dec 01, 2015 Nadine in NY Jones rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, authors-i-don-t-ever-want-to-read-a, young-adult, everyone-loved-it-except-me, lotsa-buzz

recommended for fans of Red Queen

I did not like this book; I read it solely to fulfill the 2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge category, "Goodreads Choice Award winner." (There weren't many books to choose from that looked interesting but I hadn't already read!) I plan to never read another book by Pierce Brown.

He seems very sincere, however, so I do feel a little bit bad about how much I hated this book. I toned down this review a lot. Seriously, I did.

Things I didn't like:
* I despise first person ...more

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Sep 21, 2016 Cheryl rated it it was amazing

Ok, one of my Goodreads friends gave this series such high marks that I decided I just had to read it. One year later, Amazon offers a great deal on the first book of the series, and I decided I just need to buy it.

Wow. I loved this first book. It is reminiscent of the Hunger Games, Divergent, all those great new series that have a unique vision of a future world. However, Red Rising adds a more complex level of thought. To me, it is an actual representation of society as it is today - - -that ...more

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Apr 17, 2015 Emma rated it it was ok

It's fine as far as sci-fi goes. I don't really buy it as YA just because the MC is 16 at the start. The writing felt stilted and it just felt like the writing was trying a bit too hard. Also for my purposes there is nothing especially "post-apocalyptic" about it.

There is almost no world building in terms of background. We know that Mars is a lousy place to live and Darrow and his clan live as de facto slaves. Why is Mars being terraformed? What happened to Earth in the mean time? No one knows. ...more

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May 09, 2017 Maria Elmvang rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf

On page 175 I found myself still utterly uninvested in this book. After 50% I'd say I gave it a fair shot, but I never grew to care about - or even be interested in - the main character (to the point where I can't even remember his name).

Life's too short for dull books. ...more

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